Saint Dominic Savio is popularly known for his intimate friendship and spiritual kinship with St. John Bosco. This story, however took place before Dominic even met Don Bosco. It shows the kind of material Don Bosco received to create what he called “a garment for God” - namely a Saint.

Dominic Savio's family had moved when he was eleven to a different town in Italy, called Mondonio. The relocation required also a change in school for Dominic.

In those days, there was no electric heater to warm up the building, and each classroom had instead a stove; not one with a top for cooking - but one with a place for wood and coals - so that a contained fire could heat the cold room.

As a new student there, it was sometimes Dominic’s responsibility to make sure that this stove was set and ready for the morning fire. He shoveled out the ashes, replaced them with fresh wood and dry kindling and then closed the metal hatch. All that was left to his fine work was the strike of a match that would light the fire. But that was not part of Dominic’s job.